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Dunkerque LNG and its territory
07/07/17
From the early stages of the LNG terminal worksite, Dunkerque LNG has been actively involved in local life through numerous partnerships. Now that the terminal is in operation, Dunkerque LNG is refocusing its partnership policy to make it sustainable for the years to come. We met with several local sports clubs who receive a grant. They told us how important these grants are to improving the life of their clubs.
Dunkerque LNG’s partnership policy is now divided into three areas: young people, sport and the towns where the terminal has a direct impact. The company is very often approached for help and wanted to formalise its policy, so as to be able to explain why one project can be subsidised and not another. "We give priority to young people, since they represent the future and may even be our employees of tomorrow. We believe it is important to be able to make them aware of industrial professions, particularly through their sporting activities. At the same time, it seemed only natural to pay particular attention to sports clubs in Loon-Plage, the town where the terminal is located, and in neighbouring towns," explains Béatrice Prud'homme, chair of Dunkerque LNG. "Aside from this area of focus, we have maintained two partnerships: the first with the port museum, since we are located in the port of Dunkirk and our history links us to it; and the second with the Dunkirk Flysurfing Club, which has benefited from the measures of the terminal’s support programme and with which we have forged strong ties and have real common goals: safety and young people," she adds.
René-Jean Leferme, president of the "Les Foulées Loonoises" association, particularly appreciates Dunkerque LNG's financial "helping hand" in the organisation of the annual "Loon-Plage, j'y cours" running event, in which more than 500 runners take part. "We are part of the Dunes de Flandres challenge, which includes 11 running events along the coast. Let's be honest. We organisers always try to do better than the next person. So it goes without saying that we appreciate Dunkerque LNG’s grant, which enables us to improve the prizes awarded to runners and to make the event more special. This is important for our small club."
His colleague, Franck Milliot, president of the Loon-Plage football club, is equally enthusiastic: "Dunkerque LNG awarded us a grant for the organisation of our 29th Marcel Rossel challenge, a tournament aimed at 10-11 year olds, in which around forty teams from all over France but also from other European countries compete. This assistance is very welcome, since it helps us transform our club's flagship event into a real celebration."
"This is the first year that Dunkerque LNG has made a financial contribution to the organisation of our national mini-basketball festival for 9-11 year old boys and girls," adds Laurent Loquet, president of the Loon-Plage basketball club, which has 250 licence-holder members. "During this event, we have 500 meals to take care of, 500 prizes to award and around 20 referees to thank, so of course the grant we received from Dunkerque LNG is very much appreciated."
Florent Caulier, president of the Dunkirk Flysurfing Club, is also thrilled to see the partnership with Dunkerque LNG renewed. "Thanks to the assistance we have received through the support programme for five years, we have been able to develop a site opposite the Licorne base in Malo, enabling the safe practice of kite-surf all year round, even in bad wind conditions. Last year, we were also able to hire a full-time instructor under a permanent contract. As a result, we have seen the number of licence-holder members in our club soar. We are now over 200, and some people even come from Belgium and the Lille area. Today, the renewal of the partnership means we are able to buy new equipment for 8-13 year olds and to consider recruiting other instructors, which is really useful, given the enthusiasm for this sport." Finally, Etienne Duvette, president of the Loon-Plage tennis club, which has 260 licence-holder members, was particularly pleased to receive the financial assistance that enabled him to install cameras in the club’s two tennis courts that are not equipped with stands, in order to broadcast matches on a large screen in the bar and in the reception area. "We used these cameras for the first time during our "youth" tournament. Parents really enjoyed being able to watch the matches in comfortable surroundings rather than being clustered behind a window measuring one square metre," says the club’s president. "We will certainly make good use of this new equipment."
"We are very interested in how our grants are used and take every opportunity to help our partners in their development. Some partnerships are now over five years old and not all of them are mentioned in this article. This interaction with the local area is very important to us," concludes Béatrice Prud'homme.
Article présenté sur la lettre d'information : Juillet 2017
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